The Sith Stalker Chronicles
by SithStalkerO66
Summary: What if Starkiller killed Darth Vader and became the Emperor's personal assassin? This fanfic will show what happens before, during and after Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition. This is my first Star Wars FF, so any comments are welcome
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_It has been said that every student must face the master._

This was what was happening with Galen Marek. He just faced, and defeated, the mighty Sith Lord Darth Vader, in an attempt to rescue the future leaders of a rebellion against the Empire. After years of evil throughout the galaxy, including the death of Galen's father, the mighty Sith Lord has fallen, his body lying in the throne room of his master, Emperor Palpatine.

However, instead of lashing out at the young Jedi, Palpatine was actually pleased at Marek's victory.

"Yes! Kill him! He was weak, broken! Kill him, and you can take your rightful place at my side!"

Sensing the Emperor's attempt to lure him back into the Dark Side, General Rahm Kota rushed to the apprentice, using the Force to pull Palpatine's crimson lightsaber from his robe, but was quickly answered by a barrage of purple Force Lightning.

Marek watched his friend and mentor fall to the Dark powers, hearing over Kota's cries of pain to help him, but instead of helping him, he turned towards his former master, seeing him starting to rise again, with his lightsaber ignited. The apprentice kicked him down to a lower level of the room, and soon followed him.

Darth Vader was still somewhat a competent fighter, even after his defeat at the hands of Marek, and another years ago, in the hands of his former mentor and was burning in the lava of Mustafar. He quickly swung his saber, and continued to slash and hack at him, using the Force to pin him in the air. But Marek was trained well, he broke free from his grip and started to dash from side to side, avoiding Vader's Force attacks and responding them with his own.

As the Emperor watched on, he noticed that Vader was nothing but a dead weight hanging onto his foot after the duel on Mustafar. He had long been willing to find a new apprentice, one who will take his place as his apprentice and his successor.

That searched ended today, and he watched joyfully as Marek slashed at his former apprentice.

Marek had been slashing at Vader for a few minutes, his aqua blade chipping off bits of his ebon armor, and started to throw him around with the Force, using Lightning to weaken his mechanical limbs.

Finally, when he decided his former master has had enough of his suffering, he launched a massive Force push at him, forcing him backwards. Vader was starting to collapse, his hand clenching onto his knee for support. Before he knew it, he was being lifted in the air, much like he had done with others numerous times, and thrown from wall to wall, reminding him of betraying the apprentice in his flagship. The final throw was so great that he lost grip of his lightsaber, which fell on the floor and was flying into his left hand.

_Finally._ the apprentice thought, charging forward, impaling him with the red blade. He then dashed behind him and impaled his own blade into his back, killing him.

* * *

As the apprentice made his way back to the Emperor, he noticed Kota crawling towards him, but was stopped by another barrage of lightning, forcing him back down.

"Lord Vader was a broken shadow of his former self. I _knew_ that one day you would replace him. You have just one final test," pointing at the dying Rahm Kota, he continued to speak.

"Destroy your former ties to the Jedi, and at last you will be a Sith Lord!"

Galen raised his lightsaber for the strike, and he suddenly turned and went for the Emperor, who anticipated the attack and ignited his own lightsaber to defend himself.

"You have betrayed your master and your allies both!" he bellowed. "I knew you would betray me as well! And now, you have doomed yourself and your friends!"

The crimson blade went forward, and purple lightning was coming out of his fingers, lifting him in the air and throwing him aside.

At that time, Juno Eclipse decided to stop by in the _Rogue Shadow_. Palpatine telekinetically grabbed the ship and raised it over Marek. Beside him were the dead Senators, which the young Jedi was grieving for. The last thing he saw was the _Rogue Shadow_ smashing onto his body.

* * *

The next thing he noticed was that he was bound to a surgery table on Coruscant, and he himself was wearing an armored suit similar to his former master's.

In front of him, Emperor Palpatine was watching the reconstruction process. His voice was filled with disappointment.

"You had such promise. You could have been my successor, my equal. But now..."

He looked at the metallic exoskeleton covering his body with claws on his fingers. Like Vader, metal was grafted into his body, but he ensured there was still flesh in his arm, allowing him to cast Force lightning; an ability Vader was unable to do. His helmet was a Ubese bounty hunter helmet with a rounded top and the T-visor of a Mandalorian war helmet. He looked away from him in disgust.

"But I may still have some small use of you. I still have enemies to find and destroy. You will do my bidding until I find a new apprentice. And then, like Vader, you will be cast aside."

As the medical droids advanced forward, the subject was struggling to brace himself, but was unable to brace himself from the Emperor's final command.

"Finish him."

Through his helmet's T-visor, he saw the medical droids injecting a serum into his bloodstream, which will bind him as the Emperor's servant for the rest of his life.

He was now, once again, Lord Starkiller, now serving as Palpatine's personal assassin.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter 1**

Palpatine heard a clanking noise in his throne room. He didn't like it. That sound was in his head like a headache, it reminded him of back in the Clone Wars when he had Grievous in his command. This, he figured, was his apprentice.

He turned around, and saw the armored figure kneeling at him.

"Rise."

He did as he was told, and spoke in a deep voice.

"What is thy bidding, my Master?"

"As you know, the Death Star will be our greatest weapon after its completion. But as of now, it is vulnerable." he said. "It is critical that the schematics of the battle station be kept safe."

"I understand, my Master."

"It is likely that there will be more traitorous Senators aside from the ones murdered on the Death Star." he continued. "It is also likely that their deaths may cause more worlds to turn against the Empire, and form this 'Rebel Alliance' against us."

"But even if they turn on us, they will be helpless, would they not?"

"Don't underestimate them, Starkiller. Even if they may not have the power to destroy our massive fleets, they have great determination and faith in their goals. This is why we must ensure this rebellion be eradicated from the face the galaxy."

"As you wish, Master." The assassin left the room, without a word.

* * *

"Master..."

The old man concentrated, before finally making contact.

_Why have you come to me?_

"I have sensed something has happened, with regard to the Empire.

_Continue._

"Darth Vader, the boy you brought to Coruscant, is dead."

_Yes, I have felt his death in the Force. But what he may be replaced by may be a greater threat to us all._

"Yes, that is what I fear."

_You fear for young Skywalker?_

"Yes. It is only a matter of time before this Sith tracks him down and kills him, or worse. So Master, what must I do?"

_I have spoken with Yoda about this, we have decided to let him continue his life as it is. When the time comes, you will be informed, and he will be trained._

"Very well, Master...I will wait until then."

* * *

Palpatine watched his apprentice come before him. Standing next to him in holographic form was Grand Moff Tarkin, the governor who was put in charge of the Death Star. The additional lightsaber on Starkiller's belt, indicated his success.

"So, you have completed the mission?"

"Yes, my Master." Starkiller replied in a deep, monotonous voice. "An'ya Kuro is no more."

"Good. Now that the Purge has ended, we must tend to more important matters."

"Such as?" asked the apprentice.

"The disappearance of the Death Star schematics!" came an outburst from Tarkin.

"What? Impossible. Who would dare such an attempt?"

"It seems sympathizers to your fragile Rebel Alliance has joined in its effort and attempted to restore the Republic." said Palpatine.

"I suppose." inside, Starkiller was in great doubt, since the Alliance that he created is now taking a stand against the Empire. "But it would still not explain how these rebels have acquire the plans in the first place."

"Perhaps, they have help from the inside."

"A spy, my lord?" asked Tarkin. Palpatine nodded. "But who would dare oppose the Empire?"

"That is what I must look into myself. Meanwhile, Tarkin has a new assignment for you."

Palpatine left the room and headed towards his shuttle in the outside hangars.

"Your assignment, Tarkin?"

"Yes." he started to speak. "As you know, I'm running low on sufficient labour for the construction of the Death Star. Your little...intervention on Kashyyyk has pushed its construction further, so I need another labour force."

"What do you have in mind?"

The holoprojector on Palpatine's throne sprang to life, and the hologram of a planet appeared above it.

"Geonosis. Its inhabitants have been partially responsible for the construction of the Death Star in the first place, so we seem it's fair they get a cut of its construction." He ended the sentence with a wicked smile on his face.

"As you wish, Tarkin. I will take a starfighter to Geonosis at once."

"Are you sure you wish to go alone? After all, I do intend guaranteed success in your task."

"I am more than capable of handling a race of savage insects."

Starkiller then left, confident in what he was doing. Tarkin, however, was not as sure.

* * *

**Commentary 1 - Aftermath:**

Many of you have guessed that the middle scene is a conversation between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn's ghost. I put this bit in the middle, partially because I wanted some time to pass between the two scenes with Starkiller and Palpatine, but also to show that Force-sensitive beings, including surviving Jedi, could feel Darth Vader's death in the Force, and later on, Starkiller's rise.

This scene is also the start of a B-plot which I'm putting in the story, so it's not just Starkiller flinging Rebel Soldiers around or making a building collapse over Jawas or whatever. There is a deeper plot to this, which includes the iconic characters you've seen in this chapter, and a few familiar faces as well.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter 2**

He was just living his everyday life, watching the skies. He noticed something strange, so he flew to that area. He noticed it was an Eta-2 _Actis_-class light interceptor. Before he could wonder where it came from, a metal figure started walking towards him.

He quickly pulled out his sonic blaster and started blasting at him, when a bar of red plasma came out of his right hand which swatted the blasts aside, and tossed something which hit his neck. He collapsed, whilst noticing the metal man walking towards the village.

* * *

As Starkiller walked towards the village, he was met with resistance from not only Geonosians, but Confederate Battle Droids as well.

_It would appear that Vader wasn't as thorough when finishing off the CIS. Well, I'm here to finish the job._

He dodged and deflected laser and sonic blasts, and threw darts which contained a toxin which rendered the target unconscious at Geonosian warriors.

As he walked towards more hives, more enemies swarmed towards him, from Super Battle Droids to Geonosian Elites to even the feared IG-100 MagnaGuards. Despite the overwhelming enemies, he seemed unconcerned with his situation, and still as confident as ever, he rushed to one of the Super Battle Droids and plunged a lightsaber into its back, giving him control of the brute and using it to blast droids whilst he incapacitates more Geonosians.

After an hour of fighting, he noticed Imperial Star Destroyers and TIE Fighters engaging Trade Federation destroyers and starfighters, with _Acclamator_ assault ships landing Stormtroopers and AT-ST walkers which immediately engaged.

"Commander?"

The stormtrooper commander noted Starkiller rush towards him.

"My lord, Moff Tarkin thought you might need help."

"Well, as long as you're here."

"We're ready sir. It's time to finish our war against the CIS." he held his arm up, showing a gauntlet loaded with incapacitation darts. He noticed the other troopers had similar gauntlets and were already shooting Geonosians down.

* * *

In the main Geonosian hive, the battle droid commander OOM-229 checks in with patrol squads. Behind him was Arth, the Archduke of Geonosis after the death of the previous one.

"My Lord, there has been no response from Commander Ronch. He was supposed to have returned from patrol a couple of hours ago."

Arth started chirping and making gestures with his hands, until he heard an explosion. The droid rushed to the watchtower, and in the sky he saw Imperial Star Destroyers in a massive firefight with Trade Federation destroyers and battleships. The newer Star Destroyers easily destroyed their cruisers and droid starfighters.

As he looked towards the ground, white-armored Stormtroopers were engaged in blaster fights against Battle Droids, throwing darts into the Geonosian warriors.

He quickly rushed to the throne room, and to the Archduke.

"Sir, Imperial forces have reached our planet! They're destroying our droids and used some kind of toxin on the..."

Suddenly, the door to the room was blasted down, and Starkiller stood with two Stormtroopers. Two MagnaGuards dropped from the ceiling, and Starkiller unleashed a blast of purple lightning from what appears to be claws and overloads the droids' circuits. He dropped the surge, then slammed his fist to the floor, the force throwing the two droids into the air, then ignites a bar of plasma and throws it which loops and hits both droids and reached out and blasted the two towards the wall, smashing the ceiling and flying out into the sky.

About half a dozen more Battle Droids came out, but the Stormtroopers blasted them whilst the Starkiller finished them off, then pointed a plasma bar at the neck of the figure.

"In the name of the Empire, you are to surrender this planet and its inhabitants to the Empire, or else your planet will be crushed."

Arth chirped with a resigned tone, nevertheless he felt the bar hit the side of his neck and his head flew across the room.

"Commander, round up the Geonosians onto the shuttles. Load their technology onto the _Acclamator_ ships. This planet now belongs to us."

* * *

"I have finished the task, as you have instructed, Tarkin. You have new labor force for the Death Star."

"Good." said the Grand Moff. "The Emperor's spies have discovered Moff Kalast to have been leaking the plans to the Bothan Spy Network to the Rebels. We have captured him, and are about to interrogate him for information."

"Let us hope he's as useful as he is treacherous. In the meantime, I have other tasks to tend to."

"Of course."

* * *

**Commentary 2 - Confederate Remnants:**

A major theme in this chapter is the return of CIS battle droids from the Clone Wars. I wanted this series to be played out exactly like levels in The Force Unleashed video game, with those insane Force combos. Now, a chapter with Starkiller incapacitating bugs isn't that cool, right? Well, maybe. But I wanted to show Starkiller actually killing something. Well, I put the next best thing. I made the Geonosians rebuild their Battle Droids from the Clone Wars, giving them something for Starkiller to carve up and blow up.

I know somewhere in the Expanded Universe that Wedge Antilles encountered Battle Droids on Geonosis, but they weren't as many as there are here. If I had to make up a backstory for this, I would say that since news had spread over Darth Vader's death, Arth felt the Empire was in a state of chaos and used this to his advantage by rebuilding droid factories and shipyards, producing massive battleships, and rebuilding some of the CIS' best droids, including the SBDs and the MagnaGaurds. Of course, he did underestimate the Empire's army and navy, since their battleships and destroyers fell pretty quickly against the Imperial Star Destroyers.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter 3**

"Black Nine, you got two more on your tail!"

"I can't shake 'em! Loosen up!"

"How did we get surrounded by this many fighters?"

"I don't know! Where's Lord Starkiller?"

But in the end, the TIE Fighters were destroyed by the Rebel Alliance's newest fighters, the T-65 X-Wing.

* * *

A lone X-Wing jump out of hyperspace. In the cockpit's seat, an elder man gazes at the view in front of him.

"Incredible...I've never sensed such great amount of the Dark Side in a single place."

The navicomputer of his starfighter started flashing, which identified another ship emerging from hyperspace. According to the computer, it was an Old Republic Eta-2 _Actis_-class light interceptor.

"No..."

The black interceptor suddenly jumped out of hyperspace, and its pilot immediately noticed the X-Wing, and gave pursuit.

"Surrender, old man, and the Empire will be merciful."

"I don't think so, you Sith trash!"

The X-Wing suddenly twisted, and red lasers suddenly came at him. The Sith interceptor returned the fire and maneuvered around the lasers. One blast successfully hit the fighter's wing, and sent it spiraling towards the planet. However, the X-Wing kept firing, and one of the blasts hit the interceptor, which sent it spinning in a similar manner.

* * *

As Darth Starkiller leaped out of his ruined starfighter, he walked towards a channel of smoke where the X-Wing crashed. After a couple of hours, he arrived at the crashed fighter, and noticed the cockpit was empty. Behind him, he noticed a large metal building, not too different from the ones on Coruscant, and had the distinctive Imperial appearance of buildings in strongholds on Empire-controlled worlds.

_Well, I never knew Palpatine had a secret base out here...and so close to the Core._

* * *

The man was already inside, and in front of him was a revolting sight.

"Well...what do we have here?"

He turned, and a bar of green plasma emerged from his hand.

"Jedi Master Utha Finian. I didn't expect any company in this time. After all...I have an Empire to run."

From the shadows, an ancient being came out of hiding. He had a black cloak, a walking cane, and an unmistakable face.

"Palpatine!" the Jedi exclaimed. "I will kill you here, and I will kill you now, and end this reign of evil!"

"How...impulsive. If you wish to kill me, you have to kill my minions as well."

"What minions?"

"Right here."

Master Finian turned, and in the shadows was another black clothed being, but had hideous red tattoos and horns on his head.

"The Master's minions are everywhere, no matter where you go."

From another side, another figure emerged; this one the Jedi immediately recognized.

"You can't run. You can't hide. There's nothing you can do." he said, the words coming out of his scarred face.

"And now..."

Finian turned again, this time face-to-face with someone he did not recognize. It was a shaved young man, whose face had been kept secret.

"You will die!"

All four figures, including Palpatine, brandished glowing red blades from their hands, and moved forward.

* * *

Starkiller eventually arrived to a hallway, where Imperial Stormtroopers were standing guard. He noticed one particular door, and started heading forward. As soon as he arrived, the trooper pointed his blaster at him.

"Halt. You are not authorized access in this sector."

Starkiller casually waved his hand, saying, "You will allow me access."

The Stormtrooper did not seem impressed, and kept his eyes trained on him.

"Sorry, but we're not so easily affected by simple tricks. Go be a Jedi somewhere else, before I call for back..."

Before he could finish, he felt sharp points thrust at the back of his head, and he felt himself being lifted and flying across the room. Suddenly, a surge of power came through him, and flew faster towards a group of troops, where he practically exploded.

Starkiller glanced at the other troopers, who seemed scared, and backed away. He opened the door to the elevator and entered it.

The elevator took him to another room, where he sensed a strong presence of the Force. As he walked towards it, he noticed a head flying out of the room, and was followed by a body. Starkiller readied himself, lightsaber ignited, and carefully walked into the room.

Strangely, there was nothing in there but tanks, which appear to have been shattered. Suddenly, he heard a scream, and saw a large creature in the air, ready to kill. Starkiller quickly dodged, and recognized his attacker.

It was Darth Maul; he had fought a simulation of the Sith warrior on Raxus Prime, which he easily defeated. Maul ignited two lightsabers from his hands, and joined them to form his double-bladed weapon, spinning them and preparing for battle.

* * *

**Commentary 3 - Clones**

In the _Dark Empire_ comic series, Emperor Palpatine comes back to life by transferring his spirit into Clones to achieve eternal life. He has a secret laboratory somewhere on the Deep Core planet of Byss. I wanted to give some idea of Expanded Universe comics in this story.

So, I came up with this idea that ever since the incident on the Death Star, Palpatine has been trying to find a new apprentice, and in the meantime he's planning to create an army of Sith Clones against the rebellion. He took the DNA of Darth Maul, Anakin, and Galen Marek, which he recovered somehow, probably from subtle bits on his cloak or whatever, and used it combined with Spaarti cloning technology to create an entire army of Sith. Of course, it would've been better for him to use Kaminoan cloning tech., but there was a rebellion on Kamino and the facilities were shut down, so he was forced to resort to this.

Another way of looking at this is that the clones were meant to test Starkiller's skill, when fighting against three of Palpatine's most skilled apprentices. And that if Starkiller succeeds, he would earn some remnant of his trust. But whether or not he succeeds, we'll have to wait and see.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter 4**

The red-robed guard rushed into the room, bowing towards his dark master.

"Your Majesty, we have a report on the Imperial base on Byss!"

The tyrant rose from his throne and slowly made his way towards the guard, and the exit.

_So...you encountered my little...experiments. I hope you survive..._

A dark chuckle filled the air, a chuckle so threatening that even the most strong-willed individual will tremble.

* * *

Starkiller dodged, blocked, and did whatever he could against the Zabrak apprentice. His use of the seventh lightsaber form and Tëras Käsi matched that of a simulation in his former companion, PROXY.

_Except this is no practice..._ the apprentice thought, _this is the actual opponent._

Maul leaped into the air, spinning his doublesaber around and furiously hacking and slashing at the apprentice, who was overwhelmed, even with his advanced Force abilities.

Starkiller fell backwards, unleashing a wave of Force energy against his opponent, and landed on his feet with lightsaber ignited. He charged forward, flying into the deadly spinning blades, which met with his lightning-infused blade. Seeing a vulnerable point, his metal gauntlet pierced his abdomen, causing him to fly backwards.

Maul was now coughing out blood, but Starkiller did not stop there. His lightsaber flew towards and impaled the apprentice in the same area where he was hit. He followed that up with a large blast of Force lightning which tore Maul into shreds and a Force blast forced him into the walls and through the other rooms, as a lightning-infused explosion followed.

Starkiller stood up, caught his breath, just as another opponent was waiting. A red lightsaber flew across the room and hit the wall. The blade then pulled out of the wall and into the hands of a young man, and did a sweeping strike which caused the apprentice to leap.

His new opponent was very different from Maul. He was much younger, with disheveled hair and a scar on his right eye.

_His strike...that scar...the anger in his eyes...there's no doubt about it..._

Very little have known the fate of Anakin Skywalker after the attack on the Jedi Temple. Some believed he disappeared, whilst others believed he was killed.

_Which may as well be true now..._

From a certain point of view, Starkiller was fighting his master once more, but this time it was more intense, as he soon discovered.

The former Jedi charged forward and made strikes against him, fighting as furiously as Starkiller had imagined. He leaped over his head and continued the attack from behind.

Starkiller was overwhelmed; he barely had time to look until he attacked again, causing him to quickly raise his weapon for defense. Analyzing his attacks, he was eventually able to disarm him, though his opponent didn't seem concerned. In fact, he raised his right hand and landed a devastating blow against his chest.

Despite his injury, his charged forward, and attacked, though the former Jedi didn't seem concerned at all, and continuously hammering against him with his right hand. When it came time for Starkiller to land a blow with his lightsaber, the blade was caught mid-blow by the opponent's right hand. The hilt was forced out of his hand and smashed against his abdomen.

However, his arm was feeling extreme pain, and was forced to drop the weapon. Starkiller raised a fist and punched, was blocked by his right hand, and the armored, bladed gauntlet continued forward, piercing the durasteel shell and shattering the servamotors within it. He then called forth two lightsabers, with which he amputated both of the arms and proceeded to stab him.

"Impressive..."

He turned around, and noticed another shadowed figure.

_That voice...it's so familiar...and so unfamiliar..._

A glowing blade protruded from his fist as he stepped out of the shadow, and the face and identity of his opponent caused a surprised look on the apprentice's masked face.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter 5**

Starkiller dodged a backhand slash from his opponent...for the fifth time.

He responded with a similar one, followed by several more, but all were swatted away by a simple movement of a red blade. He launched another Force push, which sent him flying back, but in mid-air he took that blast and retaliated with a more powerful push, this one causing debris from all around the room to fly at him.

Most of them were sliced apart by the Sith's two blades, but one of them he was unable to intercept; a lightsaber hilt, an invisible force pressed the button, causing a blue blade to ignite, stabbing the apprentice.

He let out a loud scream of pain, with the decibels of the scream was so great it caused his opponent to pause, when Starkiller took advantage of this moment and threw both of his lightsabers in hand with Force lightning channeling through both blades. He was able to stop the sabers only inches from his neck, but the sparks of lightning reached his neck, causing him to choke.

By this time Starkiller has recovered, with a bacta patch and a stim pack, and got back on his feet, and waves of lightning came out from his hands which struck his opponent. The waves were not as powerful as before, having fought a relentless battle, but was still enough to at least stun him temporarily.

Finally, he had both lightsabers ignited, he advanced towards him, and as he was about to end him with an impale, something happened.

The blades went through flesh...but not the flesh of his desire.

The body of Anakin Skywalker, with both arms cut off, has taken the blow intended for the young man. Before he fell, Starkiller noticed a look in Skywalker's eye...a look strangely familiar to him.

But now was no time to think, as Starkiller felt bits of his armor being ripped apart by Force lightning. He attempted to absorb some of his lightning, and managed to stop the flow. His opponent suddenly rose in the air, and launched blasts of lightning at Starkiller, which he dodged.

And then, a bubble surrounded the young warrior, and Starkiller felt the waves of telekinesis swirling around him, causing objects from all around to swirl around and launch at him. Blasts of lightning also came at him, but he was barely able to dodge them. He was barely able to grab a glass tank and throw it at him, which shattered against the protective bubble, but the shards continued to rise and thrown at him like knives.

Facing what may be his last stand, he leaped forward, lightsabers ignited, and started launching lightning at him, and started throwing debris at him, until the bubble started to fade away, when he plunged both of his blades into his shoulders, causing the attack to stop, and was barely able to raise a spiked fist which went straight into his heart.

Finally, he was defeated.

Starkiller glanced at the warrior's corpse, and took a good look at him, when a beeping sound came from his gauntlet. A hologram of Grand Moff Tarkin flashed upon him.

_"My Lord, we have found the Death Star plans."_

"Very good. I will be on my way."

He headed out of the room and to a nearby Imperial Shuttle. As the shuttle unfolded its wings and headed for Coruscant, he thought about the previous fights it had, and came to one final thought.

The greatest threat to him is...himself.


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter 6**

Blasters blazing, detonators flying and exploding. The entire white corridor was littered with a blazing spectrum.

As the white-armored entities mopped up their remaining adversaries, they stood to either side, awaiting for a dark suit of armor to walk slowly. The clanking of his metal footsteps were as audible as the shriek of a krayt dragon, as were his breathing.

"Find the princess. Capture her," the figure said as he strafed onward, with his minions following.

* * *

The young warrior fell into a dark pit. For over a few decades he felt his spirit was trapped, until today, where he was free.

_Where am I?_ the figure thought, _How did I arrive here?_

His black surroundings suddenly turned into a deathly hue of red.

_So, you have finally made it._

He turned, and saw a figure completely concealed in black armor, save for his head, which was extremely pale, with a large cut on his head. Bits of his armor missing from him showed that he was in a battered state.

_Unfortunately, you stay will not be long._

His voice sounded deep and monotonous, but at the same time it sounded like a regular being's, with decades of age on him.

He then raised a hand, and the other being felt his neck was being grabbed and was subsequently thrown into a wall of nothingness.

He raised a hand again, and his opponent felt a surge of energy coming towards him, but he raised his hand as well, and caught the energy with a surge of his own. The two beings thrusted their hands forward, in an attempt to be the dominator.

* * *

Moments after he issued the order, Starkiller met with two Stormtroopers, with a white-robed female captured.

"Princess Leia," the apprentice hissed, "I must say it is an honor to meet you at last."

"Don't try to sweet talk to me, assassin," the Princess retorted, "I know your game, and that you're the Emperor's mindless servant."

"I assure you, your Highness. That is the least of my interests. Take her away!"

The two troopers left with the Princess, and at the same time, another pair arrived with a black-clothed human.

"Have you found the plans, Lieutenant?"

"No, my Lord." replied the officer. "We searched every area of this ship, and there was no sign of the plans of the Death Star."

The young officer had a slight hint of fear in his throat, knowing that he does not wish to make the apprentice upset.

"No...I can feel it nearby..."

"My Lord!"

Starkiller turned, and saw another Imperial officer walking towards him.

"My accomplice and I saw an escape pod jettison from the ship, but no life forms were aboard." said the officer. "I wanted to open fire on it, but he assured it was unnecessary."

"She must've hidden the plans in the escape pod." he signaled to two nearby Troopers. "You two, ensure the execution of Lieutenant Praji immediately. Now, we must recover the plans."

"Shall I sent the nearest Sandtrooper Garrison to recover the plans?"

"No...I'll recover them myself."


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter 7**

The brown creature was standing next to a power droid, when it suddenly started to spark, and the creature noticed it was going to short out. The creature took out a fusioncutter and started to make some repairs, whilst another similar-looking creature holds onto it to keep it upright.

Little did they know that an indigenous Tusken Raider was quietly stalking towards them. If they turned around, they would've noticed that this was no ordinary Tusken. It had plates of metal over his body, with wires hanging down. He wore several metal bars on his belt, and as he skulked closer, the Tusken took one of the metal bars from his belt, and a bar of red plasma ignited from his fist.

The brown creature realized too late, as he was swiftly decapitated by the Tusken, and the other soon followed.

* * *

From his shining palace on Coruscant, Emperor Palpatine was standing in front of a hologram of his apprentice, wearing the traditional garbs of a Tusken Raider of his life-support armor.

"I sense that you have not succeeded in tracking down your objective. My...apprentice," he said with disgust.

On Tatooine, Starkiller looked at the blue hologram of his master on his hand.

"No, my Master," came a deep response from the vocoder in his mask.

Palpatine then repeated his orders: to find the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, whom he believes can provide him the location of a pair of droids, who were believed to contain the schematics of the Empire's newest battle station.

As the hologram winked out, Starkiller proceeded towards the dunes of the planet. Suddenly, he heard something coming through the comlink in his helmet, and on the other side was a Coruscanti male.

"My Lord, this is Captain Berrus. The Emperor has instructed me to...assist you as needed."

Despite the fact he was reluctant to allow a military commander to assist him, given their reputation for failures, he allowed Captain Berrus to do his duty. He already identified the brown creatures as trash scavengers known as Jawas, and they were gathered around a large, brown trapezium, which appeared to be a desert vehicle.

Starkiller has dealt with Jawas before, on Raxus Prime a few years prior, and so he knew the dangers they posed. As he dodged their welding tools and avoided their thermal detonators, he slaughtered every Jawa in the camp, even killing them with their own droids. Several of those droids then proceeded to attack, but to him, they were no different to the thousands of Stormtroopers he slaughtered for the past years.

Captain Berrus suggested the apprentice to move the vehicle, which he identified as a Sandcrawler, out of the way, since it was blocking the path to his destination. With a massive Force push, the Sandcrawler tumbled into the chasm below, and he proceeded to cross the bridge.

After several encounters with Jawas and Tusken Raiders alike, he made it to a B'omarr Monk Monastery, which he assumed to be the palace of the Hutt crime lord. On another area of the Palace, a _Firespray_-class starship streaked across the sky, and it landed in a hangar nearby.

The apprentice arrived at the front gate, destroyed every gatekeeper droid which popped out of the door, and the door rose, and he heard a booming sound coming from the throne room.

_Intruder! You come here to steal from me? Guards, kill that fool!_

With that command, he was swarmed by Gamorreans and Weequay guards, whom he defeated with ease. As he ventured into the palace, and he continued to kill his guards, the voice started to refer to his incredible talent, and was even pleased that he slaughtered his servant.

As he decapitated the last guard, a door opened, and the voice of Jabba the Hutt returned.

_Intruder, come downstairs. I mean you no harm. We'll discuss business together._

* * *

Starkiller walked into Jabba's throne room, walking past Gamorreans, bounty hunters, pirates, and other kind of scum. Sitting on the rectangular pad was the revolting Hutt himself. Behind him was a protocol droid, whom the apprentice assumed was used for translation. What caught his eye was the bounty hunter standing next to Jabba. He wore the unmistakable armor of a Mandalorian Supercommando, and strung on his right shoulder were braided scalps, which gave him the idea of his reputation and how deadly he is.

"The mighty and benevolent Jabba would like to..."

Starkiller shorted the droid out before it could finish its sentence, and he was now standing in front of Jabba.

_I admire your style, Sith scum! I could make a man of your talents very wealthy!_

He ignored Jabba's flattery and told him what he wants: the two droids. He even offered compensation fee for any information Jabba provides.

_There are many droids on Tatooine...far too many for even my spies to track._

At that moment, the protocol droid sprung back to life and spoke of one of his spies spotting an astromech and protocol droid in Mos Eisley.

Upon hearing the information, Jabba smacked the droid against the wall, and Starkiller was about to spring an attack, but a trapdoor underneath him opened and he fell into a pit.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter 8**

Starkiller then arrived in an underground cavern, when he heard a vicious growl, and a large creature emerged from the shadows.

It was a rancor, which Starkiller has faced numerous times on Felucia, during his hunt for Shaak Ti. He had slaughtered at least four of the creatures, so he figured one more wouldn't be a problem.

He charged towards the rancor and leaped up, slashing and hacking against the beast as he fell, and then unleashed Force lightning at the creature, stunning it momentarily.

As his feet landed on the floor, he noticed a metal door. Deciding he found a quicker way to finish off the creature, he dashed towards the door, and lifted the door up with the Force. The rancor caught whiff of what he was up to, and charged towards him.

The apprentice quickly dashed through the door, as he watched the large door crash on top of the rancor, killing it.

Seeing the death of his pet, Jabba ordered his minions to kill the Sith. As Starkiller found his way through the caverns, he was swarmed by Gamorreans and Weequays, which he made quick work of with his lightsaber.

Destroying every door that was in his way, he dashed his way through the palace, killing Jabba's henchmen along the way, and fighting his way past security defenses located throughout the palace, including laser turrets and electric fields.

As he made his way through, he received a transmission from Captain Berrus, asking the presence of the two droids. Starkiller told him of the situation in Mos Eisley, and declined the officer's offer to dispatch a Sandtrooper squadron to retrieve them, insisting he will do the job himself.

What was lurking in the next room was a surprise to the Sith. He recognized the machine that confronted him, having destroyed dozens of them prior. It was an Imperial Purge droid. He realized Jabba has been stealing weapons from Palpatine, and reprogramming them to serve his will. And as he destroyed that one, he fell down into another underground chamber.

As he tried to figure out how he would escape through the deadly grinders, a familiar voice came from a junk heap. As he played the voice back in his head, and found the source...flashbacks were triggered in his mind.

_He tried to kill him. That was his primary programming. And despite this, he had formed a bond and friendship with the droid._

_Then there was that encounter on Raxus Prime. He confronted the apprentice, and took on the form of numerous of his previous opponents, including a Zabrak Sith. As he was supposedly destroyed by the apprentice, he noticed a Star Destroyer crashing towards the building._

_As he diverted the destroyer's course and crashed on the city, the droid emerged, unharmed, from a pile of scrap. The apprentice was joyed, and despite the fact the droid no longer had his primary programming, he rescued him anyway, because of the bond._

_And that bond was the one that lead to his destruction. The Rebel Alliance was discovered on Corellia, and Darth Vader attacked the apprentice. Before he could finish him off, he was confronted by what appeared to be his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Dark Lord plunged his saber through the supposed Jedi's abdomen, revealing it to be Starkiller's droid companion, and was deactivated._

"PROXY..." came a deep, resonant voice from the metal mask. He lifted the droid up, sensing that his current power source will not last. PROXY explained to his former master his current state, without a reliable power source and being unable to stand upright.

As the droid laid limp on the floor, Starkiller explained his situation to him. PROXY explained that a scanner on the wall would help deactivate the grinders in the room. Starkiller lifted him into the line of sight of the scanner, and PROXY took on the form of a Gamorrean, and explained he needed to get through.

The grinders were shut down, and Starkiller showed his gratitude to the droid. Unfortunately, PROXY's power didn't last and it shut down.

Starkiller travelled through the chamber, dodging the traps that were still active, and he eventually made it through.

He arrived at a balcony, and saw a pair of skiffs he could use to get to Mos Eisley.

Suddenly, he felt several blaster bolts hit him, causing him to hit the floor.

"Quite a mess you made of the place." came a man with a Concord Dawn accent. As Starkiller got up, he saw the Mandalorian mercenary that was with Jabba earlier. His jetpack was active and he was hovering above the floor.

"Your head's worth a lot of credits. Now, I'll be taking you back to Jabba now."

The mercenary raised his blaster and prepared to fire.


End file.
